Devils winger Paul Cotter put his left hand on Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck’s collar to hold him down and swung four punches with his right fist to the back of his opponent’s head before wrestling him down to the ice. The first-period bout would symbolize another Devils throttling of their division-rival Rangers.

On Dec. 23 the New Jersey Devils hosted the New York Rangers for their last game before the holiday break. While the Rangers were on a losing streak, the Devils were able to extend their streak, defeating the Rangers 5-0 for their second shutout victory in a row.

Day after day, the severity of their situation seemingly does nothing but weigh the Rangers down. Monday afternoon’s 5-0 disaster against the Devils at Prudential Center was no outlier.

NEWARK, N.J. — Chris Kreider, the longest-tenured Rangers player, was a healthy scratch from the lineup Monday afternoon against the Devils in the final game before the NHL’s Christmas break.

The New York Rangers made Chris Kreider a healthy scratch Monday in a blowout loss to the Devils, and Adam Proteau says the team erred significantly by disrespecting Kreider.